Coal-chute gate



E( A; TITUS 00M CHUTE GATE Filed latch 12, 1925 May 4 ,1926.

2 Sheets-Shoot 2 mf a "Wnnm M ATTORNEY.

Patented May 4, 1926.

UNITED [STATES EDWIN A, TIIUs, oF lvIoLINE, ILLINOIS.

yCOAL-entries GATE.

Application led March 12. 1925. p Serial No. 14.910.

T 0 all whom t may concern Be it known that I, EDWIN A. TITUs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Moline, in the county vof Rock Island and State of Illinois, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Coal-Chute Gates, of which the following is a specification. My invention has referenc'eto coal chute gates, and is designed for use in connection with coaling stations, large coal bins, and other structures fitted for the storage and discharge of large quantities of coal. It is not conned to such use, however, but can be employedin connection with the storage bins for gravel, sand, and other material.

by permitting the same to empty through a chuteby force of gravity there is a tendency of the finer material to find' its Way toward the bottomy ofthe stream, while the ooarser portion thereof remainsvat the top. In some structures of the kind mentioned a barrier to the movement of the coal is provided by means of a gate extending upwardlythrough the bottom of t-he chute, andfwhich is withdrawn downwardly `when itis desired to permit a. movement of the fue-l.l rIfhe tendency in this arrangement'is for the gate to hold back the finer material and dust inthe lower part of the stream, while the uppery strata, `formed of the coarser material, runs out. In another formV a gate 1s lowered Into the chute from above, and upon the same being raised to permit a movement of theV cc-al the lower strata is permitted to move freely, letting out a quantity of the hner and less desirable material. vPossibly inl the next succeeding operation there will be discharged a lpocket of the heavierI coal. As a result the run of the coal-is not uniform, which is objectionable, especially in the operation of locomotives, wherein one engineer may secure a. quantity of coal of a desired quality, while the one succeeding him may get a supplyA of the finer stuff, with a consequent falling off in the efficiency of the engine. In some cases the coal stored in the bins would be of a uni-` form character throughout, so that the above conditionswould not apply..

One of the purposes of the present inventionv is to `provide a barrier l,for the coal,

which, upon being opened, will` permit a discharge of fuel of uniform run and quality, so that there will be no perceptible-vari* ations in the successive discharges. This is accomplished means of a pair of gates operatingtransversely of the chute, and capable of opening so as to form no obstruction tothe movement of thecoal. In connection therewith is provided a simplel and efficient means for opening and closing the gates. i

The above-named and other features and n.

advantages vof the ,invention will more fully appear from the following specification, ref-v erence being had'to .the accompanying dra-w# l ings, in `which,-- Y In the discharge of coal from storage bins, i

Fig. l is a fragmentary section of a structure equipped with the invention. p i y Fig. 2 is a detail of the shaft 24 and supports therefor, partly in section on the broken line 2-.2 of F ig. l.

Fig. 3 is va plan view, of the discharge end n of the chute, partly insection on the broken line 3,-3- of Fig. l.

. The reference number l indicates the outer wall of ancoal storage building, 2 one ofthe supporting columns thereof, and 3 the inclinedfloor of a discharge .opening 4L, the upperA end of which opens into one of the storage bins 5 with which 'the building is provided. Supported in the opening 4 is a chute 6, having an outward extension formed of a bottom plate 7, angle-plates '8. at the sid-es thereof, and uprights 9, also of angleplate formation.` The 4upper endsy of the up rights Qfare bracedy by pieces 10, the upper ends of Whichare attached to fixtures 1l, secured to the. face of the wall l. Cornerplates 12' strengthen the connection ofthe upper ends of said uprights with the pieces l0, and similar plates 13 assist inthe union of the lower ends of said uprights and the plates 8.

On the inside of the uprights 9 are posts 14;, with which a pairvcf arcuate plates l5 has a pivotal connection, by means ofarmsv 16 extending from the upper corners of said plates to said pivots. At their inner ends said varms are attached to angle-plates '1.8, secured to' the `-rear faces of the plates `l5. Said plates are slidable on the floor of the chute, and ,comprisea pairof gates forming l of the coal.

Fixed to the inner sides of the arms 16 are plates 19, further braced near their lower edges by angle-plates 20. A slight space is left between the lower edges of said plates and the floor of the chute, so as to prevent friction between said parts. Fixed to the outer corners of the gates 15 are arms 21, which intersect the arms 16, andare also rigidly attached thereto. Each of the arms 2l and gate structures to which they are attached form unitary parts of the invention, operating together. The arms 21 project outwardly beyond the end of the chute, and connected with the ends thereof are bars 22, vwhich extend rearwardly to a' pivotal connection with the end of an arm 23, fixed to a shaft 24, rockingly mounted in bearings 25 on the supports 10. Secured to one one of the shaft 2li is a lever 26, by means of which the shaft can beoperated, the downward movement thereof serving to rock the arm 23 rearwardly, as shown in broken lines, such movement drawing'the bars 22 in the same direction, and operating the arms 21 to swing the gates 15 outwardly, leaving the way open for the downward passage of the contents of the bin. The gates and supporting parts pass outwardly through openings in the side of the chute, and when such gates are fully open the plates 19 fill such openings, and form the side walls of the chute.

' Fixed to the end of the lever 26 is a rope 27, which passes upwardly over a pulley 28, supported from an arm 29 fixed in the wall 1, and. thence downwardly to a connection with a rod 30 which'supports a number of weights 31, forminga counter-weight for the gates 15 and operating mechanism thereof, to assist in returning them to their origi- Ilal positions, after the desired amount of coal has been released. Another rope 32 is attac-hed Vto the lever 26, and looped downwardly, the other end thereof heilig connected with the lower end of the rod 30. By means of the outer part of said rope'the lever 26 can be pulled downwardly to open the gates 15, and the inner end thereof can be employedfor pulling downwardly on the weights 31 and inner end of the rope 27 to assist in raising the lever and closing the gates under unusual conditions, as when the parts are coated with snow or ice.

It will bevnoted that the movement of the bars 22 is in a longitudinal direction, and' the arrangement of such bars and the arms or levers to which they are attached'is such as to produce iu effect a modified togglejoint mechanism. The arrangement of said parts, together with the relative lengths of thearm 28 and lever 26, results in the ap- Dlication of power to the gates, to open or close the same, in a greatly multiplied de` gree, so that the device can be actuated with the expenditure of a comparatively small amount of force on the lever 26.

What l claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

1. In combination with the discharge chute of a coal storage bin, a pair of frames pivoted the sides'of the chute and pro-- jected rearwardly therein, gates fixed to said frames so as to normally close the passage-way in said chute, and capable of transverse movement to vor from each other, plates carried by said frames, at approximately a a right angle with said gates, and forming the side walls of the chute when the gates are fully open, and means for actuating said gates to open or close the same. f

2. In combination with the discharge chute of a coal storage bin, a pair of pivots at the sides of the chute, at right angles with the loor thereof, arcuate gates connected at their inner corners with said pivots, so as to be capable of movement transversely of the chute, levers fixed t0V the outer corners ofy said gates and secured to the connecting means yof said gates intermediate said gates and their pivots, a rock-shaft supported above said gates, a pair vof draw-.bars connected with the ends of said levers and operatively connected with said rock-shaft, to impart the movement of said shaft'to said gates, to'open or close the same, asdesired, and a lever attached to said rock-shaft, for the operation thereof.

3. In combination withV the discharge chute of a storage bin, a pair of gates pivotally mounted in said chute, so as to be movable transversely thereof, lever devices connected with said gates, so as to permit the application of power thereto at approximately a center line of the chute, a rockshaft supported above said gates and provided with a power-transmitting arm, bars connecting said arm with said lever devices,

so that said bars will have longitudinal movement, a Vlever connected with said rockshaft, so ras to project at right angles with the chute, upwardly and outwardly, a counter-weight connected with the outer end of said lever, to assist in returning said gates to a closed position after having been opened, and a rope connected with the outer end of saidV lever, extending downwardly and rearwardly to a connection with said counter-weight, to assist in the operation thereof. 1 l

4. In combination with the discharge chute of a storage bin, a pair of pivots atV the sides of said chute, frames formed of cross-pieces rigidly attached to each other, the end of rone of reach cross-piece being connected with saidpivots, a pair of arcuate plates attached to the ends ofsaid cross-frames, the pivoted cross-pieces being Connected with the inner corners of said plates, and the other eross-pieces being attached to the outer corners of said plates, and converging towards each other to points near the center line of the chute, an actuating arm mounted above Said plates, and draw-bars connecting the ends of said lastnamed cross-pieces With said aotuatingarm, v to impart the movement thereof to said plates with an increase of power.4 Y p In testimony whereof I afIiX my signa ture.

EDVIN A. TITUS. 

